Sunday, July 12, 2015

It has been quite some time since I last sat down, lie down, or whatever position I like to be in to just be in front of the desktop/laptop and type away like this.
It has been a pretty busy first half of the year.
Without actually realising, half year has just passed and it is already mid of July.
The older you get, the faster time flies.
Seriously, this is so true.

What have I learnt so far after one year of graduating?

1. It is not that difficult to get a job, but to secure a job, that's another story.
Why I say it is not difficult to get a job?
There are definitely lots of job opportunities out there here in Malaysia.
Write a good resume, get a presentable outfit, prepare yourself for interview and tadaaa, you'll definitely get a job.
But the point here is.. how do you secure a job, climb the corporate ladder and at the same time keep the passion going?
Passion; if you like your job scope and what you're doing, then it is good. Passion keeps you going. But what keeps passion going? There are so much external factor that influences your passion. Things like, the environment, your colleagues, etc.
So far, I know quite a number of friends that has quit their first job and gotten a second/third job.
We are definitely at an age to explore the job market and find a job that fits our interest, personality and passion.
Trial and error at a young age to avoid regrets in the future.
Shape your future now.

But what if you've found a job and it is what you are passionate about but the environment keeps affecting your choice?
Let's say you love what you're doing but you aren't happy with the people you are working with or the environment, like being underpaid or working for long hours.
This, is a bit difficult because first of all, most jobs require teamwork and you can't possibly get things done on your own unless you're an entrepreneur but even entrepreneur have people to get things done for them and they need to rely on others.
So yeah, you just gotta adapt.
It's not easy, cause the more people involved in getting a job done, the more suggestions there will be, the more conflicts there will be to have to overcome.
At times, there will be some communication breakdown happening and a whole lot of misunderstanding because of that.

If you are passionate about what you're doing, just keep doing it eventhough the external factors are gonna be a mountain that you have got to climb over.
Set your limits. If you think, it really is unbearable anymore, consider switching company.
Not every company have the same culture.
Again, we are at the age of trial and error.

2. Make all the mistakes and learn from it.
I can relate this to what I have been through over the past 6 months.
Sometimes when everyone in the team is so busy, you have to think on your on feet and make some decisions on your own. You just gotta do something independently. But the thing here is, you gotta take responsibilities on your own actions cause if your action led to something bad, you gotta face it.
YES, I DID A LOT OF MISTAKES.
Like so much that I started thinking people are gonna hate me for it.
I don't know if people do hate me for it or what but I definitely learnt something.
I am not the most detailed person and sometimes I don't do self review before sending out an email or submitting a working paper.
My decision making sucks. Often are bad decisions.
I'm a slow learner. Always relying on seniors for guidance.
These are my weaknesses and I admit, I'm not an A grader, I take things slowly.
I get pressured super easily and that, is something I need to improve.
One of my manager actually gave me an advice "make all the mistakes you can now as an IX because once you become a senior, you can't afford to make any.".
Of course not intentional mistakes.
Mistakes I can learn from.

3. Priorities
Setting priorities becomes a priority in your life.
You need to know what's the most important task.
The urgent and important tasks come first.
The urgent but not so important comes second.
The not urgent but important comes third.
And the last one would always be the not urgent and not important, if can, don't even bother doing it if it is not necessary.

That're pretty much what I have learn so far.
There are somemore but it's gonna be a long post if I continue writing.

Sometimes my working style isn't the most suitable working style.
Hmm..
There's something that has been bothering me a lot.
Like.. I am the type that, when I get a task, I try to finish it as soon as possible.
I don't think I was like that when I was in college.
Back then when I was in college, I was always the last minute queen.
LOL. Like super last minute.
Study also last minute, assignment also last minute.
But then, now at work, I do fast and more in the beginning so that towards the end of the deadline, I have enough time to look through my work to see what is insufficient and fix those.
But then, the bad thing about this work style is that.. people who do last minute work would seem to have a lot on their plate towards the end and that kinda make me look bad cause it will make me look super free and as if useless and if I don't offer help then it would make me look super bad? LOL.
And then when I offer help and they got nothing for me to do and when the higher positions people see me slightly free compared to the others then it would definitely make me look terrible.
I have spoken to some people about it and they said it would be good if I can work at an average speed. I don't know what does an average speed mean though.
I am not sure how can I improve this on my own.
But yeah, teamwork.
If you have the capacity, take on new challenges.
I hope things will get better.

Brace yourself, Monday is coming.
Let's get pass this 4 days and get some good rest, or not.
Better utilize these 4 days properly so that I can rest for well, 2 days maybe?